A 54-year-old Gangtok woman has fallen prey to online scammer, who duped her of Rs 1 lakh.

As per reports the quinquagenarian woman who hails from from Tathangchen in Gangtok, Sikkim, was swindled out of Rs 1 lakh by a scammer impersonating a customs officer.

A case was also lodged with the Sadar Police Station on July 22, 2024, under relevant sections of the IPC and IT Act.

As per reports, the victim on June 14, 2024, received a call from an unknown number.

The caller, pretending to be a customs officer from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, claimed that a consignment in her name, containing fake passports, ATM cards, and 140 grams of MDMA, was about to be shipped to Malaysia.

The caller threatened to register a criminal case against her at the New Delhi Police Station if she did not cooperate.

Subsequently, the victim received several documents, arrest warrants, and threats to seize her property.

She was then contacted via WhatsApp and instructed to transfer Rs 1 lakh to a specified bank account for "Public Office Fund Legalization."

In fear, she transferred Rs 1 lakh through G-Pay to a WhatsApp number linked to UPI Transaction ID 416623048690 and an account under the name Manju Kuwar.

The transfer was made from her SBI account using the provided UPI ID.

The complainant filed an FIR seeking legal action against the unknown perpetrators. The case is currently under investigation.

This is one of the many cases in which innocent persons have fallen victim to such scamsters.

In April this year, a woman in Bengaluru has lodged a complaint with the police, claiming that she was scammed by a group of people, who also made her to strip on a video call.

In her complaint the woman further informe that the fraudsters also allegedly duped her of Rs 10 lakh.

The woman, who is a lawyer by profession, in her complaint informed that she was contacted by some people on April 5,  claiming they were officers with the customs department in Mumbai.

The fraudsters claimed that there was a drugs package in her name getting dispatched from Singapore and asked her to strip on video call for a 'narcotics' test, India Today reported citing the woman's complaint.

"This went on for two days following which the fraudsters started blackmailing me, saying they would upload the video online if I did not transfer Rs 10 lakh to their account," reported India Today quoting the victim.

The wman panicked, for obvious reans, and she transferred the said amount to their account.

The woman later lodged a complaint with the police on April 7 and subsequently the police have registered a case under the IT Act and relevant sections of the IPC relating to extortion and cheating.

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